Wrasse, Black Bream, Pollack and More – Fisheries Management Plan Consultations Now Open

Calling all sea anglers and charter skippers, now is the time to make your voice heard. Defra has just opened consultations on four new Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) – proposed plans that will guide how fish stocks are managed in UK waters. These plans will affect the fish you care about, and, potentially, the way you fish for them.

The plans under consultation cover:

• Celtic Sea & Western Channel – demersal species FMP (incl. cod, pollack, and more)

• Celtic Sea & Western Channel – pelagic species FMP (incl. mackerel, herring, and others)

• Wrasses complex FMP (incl. ballan, corkwing, cuckoo, rock cook and goldsinny wrasse)

• Seabream FMP (incl. black bream and gilthead bream)

These plans include species that are important for recreational sea anglers, from cuckoo wrasse and black bream, to pollack and gilthead bream. The commitments made in these plans could directly affect your catch and the health of the fishery for years to come.

Why You Should Care

Fisheries Management Plans are the UK Government’s flagship programme to manage our fisheries – but they aren’t just for commercial fishers. Recreational anglers and the charter fleet generate real economic and social value, and your input ensures your interests are considered.

The Angling Trust will be submitting a full response on behalf of our community to each of these consultations, and we also encourage individual sea anglers, clubs and businesses to submit responses or to get in touch with us with their views at [email protected].

To support the sea angling community in responding, the Angling Trust will be creating easy-to-read guides for each FMP over the coming weeks, showing what’s proposed and, importantly, what might be missing. These will be published on our website and social media in due course.

How to Get Involved

The consultations are open until 11:59pm on 5 May 2026, and there are several ways to have your say:

• Online, by email, or by post – whichever works for you.

• Online events to walk through each plan and answer your questions:

  • Wednesday 25 Feb 3:15pm – Wrasses complex & Seabream

  • Monday 2 Mar 1:15pm – Celtic Sea & Western Channel pelagic

  • Tuesday 3 Mar 1:15pm – Celtic Sea & Western Channel demersal

  • Book your place here https://defrafmp.blog.gov.uk/fmp-events/

• In-person events in the South and South West (dates to be confirmed on the Defra FMP blog).

• Watch Defra’s short overview video to get the basics and jump straight to the fish you care about.

Don’t Miss Out

“These Fisheries Management Plans have the potential to affect the fish you love to catch and the way you enjoy your sea angling,” says Hannah Rudd, Head of Marine at the Angling Trust. “This is sea anglers chance to have a real say in how these important recreational species are managed and to highlight how vital they are to our sector. Whether it’s wrasse, black bream, pollack, or cod, your voice matters – don’t miss the opportunity to make it heard.”